


Forever Home

by 5ataen



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alpha!Wonho, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Omega!Minhyuk, actually more of minhyuk and his mom-centered, also i'm calling wonho wonho i feel weird calling him hoseok but everyone else has their real names, also some got7 members appear, and also other kpop idols, but theyre all cameo roles they don't play big roles, it's got a little bit of fluff too because lmao i can't write pure angst, it's very minhyuk-centered, rather than wonhyuk-centered, this is kinda sad but also not idk i can't categorise this story under one genre, this is more of a kid fic guys but they grow up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-14 00:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11197134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5ataen/pseuds/5ataen
Summary: Minhyuk finds a forever home in the small pack, and in Wonho.Minhyuk-centered. Not proofread.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to this monster of a story lmao i started writing this last year and only finished like thirty minutes ago. also this story focuses more on minhyuk and his mother rather than wonhyuk, so that's just a warning don't get confused why there's so little wonhyuk moments. 
> 
> also this story will introduce another breed???? type????? of wolves (idk what to call alphas omegas and betas collectively oops but i called them breeds throughout the whole story, so i'm just gonna stick with 'breed') called deltas but i did explain them so just pop up in the comments if you still have any questions.
> 
> enjoy :)

A door bursts open and a small group of 12 children run out, all cheering and excited to finally be able to play. Wonho was just as excited, but he stopped abruptly when he felt a strong, sweet smell hit his nostrils. “Wonho hyung? Is everything alright?” The youngest of the small group of cubs, Beta Changkyun, asked. “Do you guys smell that?” Wonho asked, sniffing the air, only to be hit with the same strong smell. “Now that you mentioned it, I have been smelling something unfamiliar for a while now.” Delta Hyungwon replied, and the only other Delta of the group of cubs, Kihyun, nodded. “Well, if the Deltas can smell it, but we can’t, then there’s definitely something up!” Beta Elaine chimed in.

Deltas were the rarest breed of all wolves, and for a reason. Deltas were extremely powerful, with strength and aura that could beat even Alphas, even if some Deltas only won Alphas by a margin. They had a strength of a thousand wolves and more, and could smell even the faintest scents from miles away, the best being able to smell scents thousands of miles away. They always exuded confidence and danger, and gave off a far more intimidating aura than any Alpha could. The biggest downside of being a Delta was that Deltas had the weakest scents of all breeds. Only Deltas, and the most powerful wolves, could pick up the scent of a Delta, much less like it. That, coupled with the low fertility rate of any Delta, ensured that Deltas come seldom. The only way to ensure a Delta child, when fertility allows it, is when both parents are Deltas.

“All of you are so lucky, having such great senses of smell. Until now, I still can’t smell any of you from afar!” Beta Jooheon whined, causing the group to laugh. “It’s okay, Jooheony. You’ll be able to smell well real soon!” Alpha Jackson comforted, causing the other cub’s smile to return to his face. “Let’s get back to the topic, guys!” Wonho piped up, still sniffing the air. “Kihyunnie, Hyungwonnie, can you guys lead us to the smell?” Wonho asked and the two Deltas nodded before sniffing the air, then heading off, the others following.

What they didn’t expect was to be led to the Alpha’s den. “Why did you two lead us to Alpha’s den?” Omega Hana asked, “Well, this is where the scent led us.” Kihyun replied. Suddenly, Beta Youngjae gasped. “What if Alpha’s in trouble?” Youngjae exclaimed, “No, that can’t be! Alpha Shownu is really strong, he won’t lose!” Omega Minhee fought back, Omega Youngji nodding beside her. Suddenly, before anyone else could say something, the door opened and a well-built Alpha came out of the door, a lady with long silver hair following behind him. The Alpha was surprised, to say the least, when he walked out of his den and saw all of the pack’s cubs outside of his house. “Alpha!” All of them exclaimed when they saw the wolf. “Why hello there, pups. What brings you to my house?” Shownu asked, slightly bending down to speak with the cubs. “Wonho hyung said that he smelled something, and Hyungwonnie hyung and Kihyunnie hyung said so too, so we followed the scent all the way here.” Changkyun replied the Alpha, and Shownu smiled. “You picked up the scent all the way from school?” Shownu asked, speaking to Wonho, who nodded, “And you two were able to trace it all the way here?” Shownu then turned to the two Deltas, who also nodded. “Good job, you three. You guys are improving as each day passes.” Shownu gave a soft smile to the group, who all beamed at the Alpha’s compliment.

“Well, to satisfy your curiosity,” Shownu said, standing upright, “We will be having new pack members today, and they’ll be marked tonight during dinner.” Shownu stepped aside, allowing the lady behind him to come into full view of the cubs. She had icy blue eyes paired with her long silver hair. She was tall, lacking at most five centimetres from the Alpha, and very, very intimidating in not just the way she appeared, but the way her aura felt too. “Heehyo, these are the pack’s cubs.” Shownu introduced the silver-haired girl to the cubs, her icy blue eyes hooded as she looked down to the cubs. Some of them couldn’t help but shudder slightly. “Hello there, cubs. My name is Lee Heehyo, and I’m a Delta.” The lady said formally, but gave a slight smile to the cubs. “Puppy, introduce yourself.” Heehyo spoke to the blonde-haired boy that was hugging her waist tightly and hiding behind her, bringing the attention of the cubs to the boy for the first time. The cubs weren’t sure if it was because he was standing behind his mother, but he seemed short, the top of his head only barely reaching his mother’s waist. “M-my name’s Minhyuk, and I’m an Omega. I am 7 years old.” The blonde introduced himself timidly. It suddenly hit Wonho that the boy was the one who was emitting the sweet scent, because it was impossible that it was the boy’s mother who emitted the scent. Wonho wasn’t strong enough to pick up the scents of Deltas, after all.

“I’m a Delta, too! So is Hyungwon!” Kihyun exclaimed excitedly, always happy to meet new Deltas. “Is that so, little one? Well, I look forward to working with you guys and your parents, then.” Heehyo smiled at the two, who beamed proudly. “Heehyo will be our new Delta captain, kids. She was the Delta captain of her pack before she decided to switch packs,” Shownu explained, “So she will definitely be working with you two.” Shownu finished as he looked at the two young Deltas, who beamed at each other. “Now, kids, if you can excuse us, I’ll have to bring Heehyo and Minhyuk to their house first. You kids can go on and play first, and I’m sure Minhyuk will be joining you kids soon.” Shownu explained, and the kids let out a slightly disappointed whine, making Heehyo and Shownu chuckle. “I’ll see you later, kids.” Heehyo gave a small wave, “Say ‘bye bye’, pup.” Heehyo turned her attention to her cub, who gave them a small wave, before walking away, Minhyuk’s hand in hers. Wonho’s eyes trailed the small boy, who in turn continued to look back at him even when he and his mother was at a distance away. Looks like Wonho’s not the only curious one.

 

“So how do you like the village so far?” Shownu asked as he allowed Heehyo and Minhyuk into a cabin. “It’s great. If the adults are anything like the kids, I’d say everyone is friendly. Right, puppy?” Heehyo said, garnering the attention of the boy who was back to hugging her by the waist and nodding at his mother’s question. “He’s a shy thing, isn’t he?” Shownu asked, smiling softly. “Only at first. He’s a bubble of sunshine when he opens up.” Heehyo explained. “Mommy, he smelled sweet.” Minhyuk suddenly said, speaking without having to be prompted by his mother for the first time. “Who, Hyunwoo?” Heehyo asked as he pointed at the Alpha, referring to him by his real name. Shownu was a nickname the village cubs gave him. It was a fusion of his surname, Son, and his given name, because they couldn’t pronounce Son Hyunwoo properly. “No, not Mr Alpha. The boy.” Minhyuk replied, finally letting go of his mother to stand in front of her. “The boy? Which one?” Heehyo asked, crouching down to meet Minhyuk’s eye level. “The tallest one.” Minhyuk replied, and Heehyo looked at Hyunwoo, both knowingly and questioningly. “You must be talking about Wonho, Minhyuk. He’s an Alpha.” Hyunwoo replied, the boy turning to look at the Alpha. “Will he hurt mommy?” Minhyuk asked.

The boy was all too aware of the old hatred Alphas had for Deltas due to the latter being much stronger than Alphas were, Heehyo made sure to educate the young pup about the wolves’ history. That’s the other reason why Deltas came in small numbers, they were slaughtered by scared Alphas way back in the past. Now, not many Alphas have that hate, and most feel sorry and disgusted by what their kind has done to Deltas in the past. But that doesn’t mean that those hateful Alphas don’t exist anymore. They only exist in small numbers.

Hyunwoo chuckled. “No, Minhyuk. Wonho will not hurt your mother. He’s a very kind and gentle alpha, like all of the other alphas in the pack. None of them have any hatred for Deltas.” Hyunwoo replied, and the two adult wolves could see the boy relax, causing them to chuckle. “Anyway, I’ll leave you two to get comfortable. I’ll be back with a map of the village, and then show you around so you won’t get lost and also to introduce you to everyone. Rest up a little, okay?” Hyunwoo asked as he headed out the door. “Alright, thanks Hyunwoo. This means a lot to us.” Heehyo said thankfully standing up. “No problem, it’s the least I can do for you.” Hyunwoo smiled before he left and closed the door behind him. “Will this be our forever home, mommy?” Minhyuk asked once he and his mother were left in solitary. Heehyo smiled gently. “Yes, pup. This will be where we will live, forever and always. No more running, no more hiding. We’re safe now.” Heehyo smiled, cupping her child’s cheek and kissing him on his nose, eliciting a truly happy giggle from the boy, something the boy hasn’t done in a very long time. “Now, let’s rest, alright? Let’s get comfy in the bed that we won’t have to fear losing.” Heehyo said as she picked up her small cub and peppered the cub’s face with kisses, once again eliciting joyful giggles from the small boy.

 

Hunwoo had returned to the new family’s cabin an hour later with a map of the village in his hand, and now he was in the process of showing the pair around. “This is the market, where you can get your daily necessities and also food and ingredients for meals that aren’t dinner.”  Hyunwoo explained as he showed the pair the town market, the vendors and the little number of patrons instantly straightening at the sight of their Alpha. “Hello, Alpha. Who might this be?” An old lady asked as everyone gathered around the three wolves. “This is Heehyo and her cub, Minhyuk, Mrs Im. They are new members of the pack, I will be marking them tonight before dinner.” Hyunwoo explained, smiling softly at everyone. “Oh my, welcome to the pack, dearies!” Mrs Im exclaimed, turning her attention to the mother and son. “You have a very cute cub, miss.” The elderly woman smiled at Heehyo, who returned it. “Thank you, ma’am.” Heehyo replied. “Have you met the other cubs yet, little Minhyuk?” Mrs Im asked the blonde boy, who only looked up at his mother, once again hugging her from the waist and hiding behind her. “Yes we have, ma’am. They were the first wolves we met after Hyunwoo.” Heehyo replied for the cub, putting a comforting hand on her cub’s head. “Oh my, you’re cub isn’t a speaker, is he?” Mrs Im asked, redirecting her attention to the silver-haired girl, who shook her head. “No ma’am, not at first. He’s very shy, for now. But he really is just a bundle of energy and is very talkative. Just give him some time to adapt to the new pack.” Heehyo smiled gently. “Well, that’s good to hear.” The elderly lady smiled, “I understand, too. My little Changkyun, my grandson, was very shy too when we first came to this pack. The village cubs really got him to open up a lot in the short two years we’ve been part of this pack.” Mrs Im reminisced. “I’m sure Minhyuk will open up in due time, ma’am.” Heehyo smiled. “Oh please, call me Grandma Im!” The old lady cheerily said, “Will do, Grandma Im.” Heehyo’s smile widened. “Alright, everyone. I’m sure everyone wants to know our newest members soon, but I still have to show them around. You’ll know more later, during dinner.” The Alpha said as he started to guide the pair away, everyone slowly dispersing. “Say ‘bye bye’ to everyone, pup.” Heehyo reminded her son once again, who gave a slight wave, earning him coos from some of the wolves.

“Now, before I was interrupted by the impromptu meet & greet you guys had,” Hyunwoo chuckled, “You do know that our pack has dinner together every night, right?” Hyunwoo asked, and the girl nodded. “Yes, Hyunwoo. I was paying attention when you gave us a briefing of your pack culture a few hours ago.” The girl rolled her eyes playfully, “Atlas did that too, sometimes. It’s a little hard to assemble everyone every night, though, since the Deltas were always so busy and usually came back well past midnight.” Heehyo relayed. “Well, the pack isn’t anywhere near as major or important as Atlas.” Hyunwoo started off, “Our Deltas aren’t so busy since we don’t face a lot of threats, and I have no plans on expanding our diplomatic ties with more packs anytime soon, so our Deltas don’t work insane hours like you used to. We like to make sure that we eat dinner together as much as possible to ensure that our sense of family stays strong.” Hyunwoo finished and Heehyo sighed. “I wish it was that simple for Atlas.” Heehyo said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “Well, let’s not get sad. Today is supposed to be a happy day, since you two are having another chance to live normally.” Hyunwoo said, breaking the heavy atmosphere as he showed the pair the other key places in the village. He walked as he spoke, but he stopped in front of a particular cottage. It was bigger than the normal residential cottage, but it was smaller than the village hospital. “I think this place would be important for you to know in detail.” Hyunwoo started. “This is our Warriors’ Headquarters, where all our warriors go to receive missions and jobs. This is also our Delta headquarters.” Hyunwoo said as he opened the door and stepped in, all of the warriors’ present standing at attention when they saw him.

Warriors were like the soldiers, police and diplomats of the village. They ensure the safety of the village by ensuring that there are guards posted at the entrance of the village at all hours and that any threats directed to the village will stay just that, threats, and not turn into actions. Deltas almost always found themselves wanting to be warriors, and of course turning into one. They had a natural talent for being one, so they never really found that they were troubled by being a warrior. Deltas focused more on the diplomatic part of being warriors, frequently venturing out of the village to other packs’ villages to form bonds between the two packs, and were also sent to said villages to check on their statuses, to see if they are in turmoil or not. It was part of the partnership. They also frequently ensured that any high-level threats were taken care of. Of course, there were Alpha and Beta warriors too, even a few Omegas, but Deltas made up most of the warrior count. Not many had the courage of a Delta, the courage to endanger their lives every single day to ensure that their pack was safe. While it is true that the Alpha kept the pack safe, but it was truly the Deltas who ensured it.

“Alpha!” All the warriors saluted the Alpha. “At ease, warriors.” Hyunwoo nodded, and the warriors stood at ease. “Warriors, meet Lee Heehyo. She will be your Delta captain from today onwards, replacing Captain Yoo Seungjin.” Hyunwoo introduced the girl, who nodded firmly at the warriors. Minhyuk let go of his mother’s hand, only to hide behind her once again. Heehyo took notice and hoisted the small Omega into her hold, carrying him. The blonde simply buried his face into his mother’s neck. “Captain Heehyo? From Pack Atlas?” One of the warriors asked, amazed like the rest of the warriors present in the main room, curious as to why such a legendary Delta was going to be their new captain. “Yes. She has decided to switch packs to our pack.” Hunwoo explained. “But, why switch out of one of the Legendary Three?” Another warrior asked in innocent curiosity, but Minhyuk whimpered at that, a small action not missed by any of the wolves in the room. Heehyo ran a soothing hand up and down her son’s back. “That’s a story for another day, when my child is not present in the vicinity.” Heehyo said firmly, frightening the warriors. “Where is Captain Jaebum? I need to introduce him to the new Delta captain.” Hyunwoo asked, “He’s through there, Alpha.” Another warrior pointed at a door, and Hyunwoo excused the three of them and knocked on the door before entering.

“Hello, Captain Jaebum.” Shownu greeted, and the Captain’s head shot up from his paperwork. “Oh, Alpha.” Alpha Jaebum replied, standing up in attention in the presence of the Alpha. “At ease, captain. I want to introduce you to someone.” Hyunwoo said, and Jaebum’s attention turned the girl who was still cradling her child. “Miss Heehyo, it’s an honour to meet you.” Jaebum bowed slightly once he realised who the girl was. Heehyo nodded at his greeting. “At ease.” Heehyo said, and Jaebum lifted his head. “Captain, she will be the new Delta Captain from today onwards.” Hyunwoo announced. Jaebum was about to ask why, but he noticed the aura change of the Alpha, and the intensified aura of the Delta. It would be stupid to ask now. “It’s a pleasure, Miss Heehyo.” Jaebum said instead. “I see you have a cub. I think my Changkyun will like him very much. He likes to make friends.” Jaebum smiled slightly, changing the topic as swiftly as he can. “Yes, I feel like my pup will like him too. I look forward to our partnership, both as Captains and as parents.” Heehyo replied, appreciating the alpha’s awareness to the situation. “It was nice meeting you, Captain Jaebum. But I think it would be best if we took our leave now. My pup’s growing more uncomfortable.” Heehyo explained, hugging her child tighter to give him a better sense of security. “Ah, yes. Please, feel free to do so. I don’t want a cub to be scared of the warriors.” Hyunwoo replied immediately, and Heehyo nodded appreciatively. “Hyunwoo, I take it that we’re done with our tour?” Heehyo asked as she headed to the door of the Captain’s Office, Hyunwoo trailing behind her. “Ah, yes. I’ll walk you back to your cottage.” Hyunwoo offered, “I’ll see you at dinner, Jaebum.” Hyunwoo excused himself and closed the door. Jaebum let out a relieved breath as soon as his door closed and slumped into his chair. That was more nerve-wracking than he could have ever imagined.

“I like your Warrior Captain. He knows how to read the atmosphere.” Heehyo broke the silence as she and Hyunwoo walked back to her cottage, Minhyuk still in her hold. “Yeah, he has a reliability that exceeds his years. He became the Warrior Captain in the two years he’s been a pack member.” Hyunwoo replied proudly. “But I have to apologise about the warrior that asked you why you switched packs. I’m sure he asked purely out of curiosity.” Hyunwoo apologised, but Heehyo only shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I know he didn’t mean any harm. I didn’t smell any malice from him. He just chose a bad time to ask. But my pup’s alright.” Heehyo said, then drew Minhyuk away from her neck, where he took refuge in, and rubbed their noses together affectionately. “My pup’s strong, isn’t he?” Heehyo asked, adoration in her voice. Minhyuk cracked a giggle. “Mommy’s right, I’m strong!” Minhyuk exclaimed at Hyunwoo, making the two adults laugh. “Yes, your mother’s right, Minhyuk.” Hyunwoo smiled gently. “I can walk now, mommy.” Minhyuk told his mother, who let him down onto the ground and offered her hand to him, the blonde taking it happily. “Anyway, despite what I said back there, you don’t have to start being the captain immediately, Heehyo.” Hyunwoo changed the subject. “You can start going to headquarters whenever you feel like it. Spend as much time as you want with Minhyuk and take your time to adjust yourselves into the pack before you start going to work, and before he starts going to school.” Hyunwoo informed the delta as they reached the front of the family’s cottage, the delta nodding. “Yeah, I was planning on that anyway. But I think we’ll both be ready to resume normality in a week’s time, at most. But I’m sure my pup will still be a little shy at first.” Heehyo replied as she opened the door. “Mommy, I’m tired.” Minhyuk said once the door was open. “Alright pup, go wash up and head off to take a nap. I’ll wake you in time for dinner. We don’t want our ball of sunshine to be tired during the ceremony, do we?” Heehyo instructed the child, who replied with a “We don’t” and ran off to take a quick shower, Heehyo looking at him with soft eyes. “You must really love the cub, don’t you?” Hyunwoo asked. “Of course I do, he’s my son, no matter what anyone might say.” Heehyo replied firmly. “Does he know, about the Harmonia Pack?” Hyunwoo asked, keeping his voice low, just in case the cub’s ears were developed ahead of his age. “Yes, yes he does. He wasn’t an infant when it happened and the boy has the attributes of most Deltas. He remembers the night vividly.” Heehyo sighed as she leaned against the door frame, “And whenever he asked me, begged me, to tell him any details he can’t remember, I always told him. I keep no secrets from my cub, and he has a maturity and understanding unsuitable for a 7-year-old cub. He always took the information head-on, and accepted that that’s part of his life.” Heehyo explained. “That’s heavy for such a young mind. What he went through was ten-folds of what I faced.” Hyunwoo replied, and Heehyo nodded. “Much worse than that.” Heehyo replied, and anyone who didn’t know how far the two adults’ relationship went would think that Heehyo was putting Hyunwoo down, but Heehyo meant no harm and Hyunwoo knew that. “Anyway, really, I thank you, Hyunwoo. Thank you for giving me and my cub a safe place to live in.” Heehyo thanked the Alpha once more. “No, no. It’s the least I can do.” Hyunwoo shook his head, “What I’m doing for you can’t possibly compare to what you have done for me and this pack. You and Minhyuk have all the rights to be a part of the X Pack.” Hyunwoo smiled. “Well, I think you better get going. An Alpha shouldn’t dedicate too much of his time to new pack members. We’ll still see each other later.” Heehyo said as she pushed herself off of the door frame. “Alright, you should rest up more, too. You’ve gone a long way coming here.” Hyunwoo advised, “A real long way.” Heehyo drawled and Hyunwoo laughed. “I’ll see you later, Heehyo.” Hyunwoo waved as he walked away, Heehyo waving at him before closing the door. “Mommy?” Minhyuk called from the toilet, alerting the girl. “Yeah, puppy?” Heehyo answered. “I forgot to bring a change of clothes. Can you get some for me, please?” Minhyuk asked sweetly, causing Heehyo to laugh at the boy. “Alright, puppy. Wait a while.” Heehyo chuckled, earning him a small ‘thank you’ from the boy. “That goofball.” Heehyo mumbled under her breath as she shook her head affectionately.

 

Soon enough, dinner came, and everyone gathered around the campfire in a semi-circle, eyes on Hyunwoo. “Tonight, is a special night. Because tonight, we will be gaining two new pack members.” The Alpha announced and everyone cheered, some of them even howling. “Please, step forward.” Hyunwoo said, and Heehyo stepped out, Minhyuk right beside her. Their forms suddenly morphed, and out came a wolf with silver fur, and a small pup with caramel fur. Hyunwoo followed soon after, changing into a big wolf with deep brown fur. The mother nuzzled her cub before she stepped forward and bowed her head in front of the Alpha. The brown wolf stepped closer, baring his fangs, and then sunk them into the base of the back of the silver wolf’s ear. One would expect whines from any other wolf, but the silver wolf had been through much worse and held her composure, and not a moment too late, she felt the fangs remove themselves from their hold, and the rest of the wolves cheered and howled. Then, the mother gestured her cub forward, who stepped up without any hesitation, eager to show his bravery. He’s been through enough, and this isn’t a bad thing. There is no reason to be scared. His mother will be there, cradling him if the pain got too bad. The caramel wolf bowed his head down too, and soon felt the sharp pain. He yelped and whined, but who could blame him? He was only a cub, after all. But he felt his mother put her head to his free side, comforting him. “It’s alright, the pain will be over soon.” He heard his mother speak to him. And true to her words, the pain left as quickly as it came. The three wolves turned back to their human form, the claim marks of the two members appearing right below their ears, on their neck.

“Our new pack members, Lee Heehyo and Lee Minhyuk!” And everyone cheered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minhyuk and Heehyo get accustomed to the pack.

Minhyuk stayed by his mother’s side right after the ceremony, still feeling the sting. It wasn’t unbearable, but it surely annoyed and caused him some pain. “Does it hurt?” Someone to his side asked him, garnering his attention. It was the boy from earlier, the one that smelled sweet. The blonde boy found himself nodding. The boy smiled. “Here, drink some juice. It helped me when I was marked by the Alpha, but it wasn’t Shownu hyung who marked me and my family. It was his dad.” Wonho smiled, stretching out his hand an offering the boy juice. Minhyuk looked up at his mother, who already noticed and was looking down at him with a smile. His mother nodded, and Minhyuk let go of his mother’s hand to accept the cup with two hands. “Thank you.” Minhyuk thanked as he took a sip, the cold liquid travelling down his throat and easing the pain he felt. “My name is Shin Wonho, by the way. I’m an alpha.” Wonho smiled widely, “I know, Mr Alpha told me.” Minhyuk replied and Wonho giggled. “You can call him Shownu hyung. That’s what all the kids call him,” Wonho smiled, “Which reminds me, you should come meet the rest of us!” Wonho exclaimed as he took Minhyuk’s hand and dragged him off, the blonde-haired boy panicked slightly and looked back at his mother, who had an eye on him and a smile on her face, waving her hand and telling him that it was okay. Minhyuk felt some of his panic wash away.

“Everyone, this is Minhyuk!” Wonho exclaimed happily once they reached the small group of children. “Hello Minhyuk!” Everyone replied cheerfully, “H-hello...” Minhyuk replied timidly, trying to keep himself as small as possible. He looked down onto the ground, afraid to look at anyone into their eyes, even when they introduced themselves. “It’s okay, Minhyuk, no need to be scared! Everyone here is very nice!” Wonho said as he slung his arm around the smaller boy, and a very strong, very sweet smell infiltrated the two boys’ nostrils, instantly making Minhyuk feel at ease. And he finally looked up. “You looked up!” A boy, Jooheon if Minhyuk remembered correctly, exclaimed excitedly, and Minhyuk cracked a small smile, further exciting the boy. “And you smiled!” Jooheon exclaimed once again, and everyone laughed. “Calm down, Jooheon. You don’t want to scare him.” Elaine chuckled. “You know, my parents are both deltas, like your mom!” Kihyun bragged, happy to finally meet someone who has a delta parent, other than Hyungwon. “Me too! Both my parents are deltas.” Hyungwon chimed in. “Mommy told me about deltas, does that mean you two are deltas too?” Minhyuk asked tentatively, and the two boys nodded. “My daddy used to be the Delta Captain, but now it’s your mom.” Kihyun relayed, and Minhyuk felt slightly flustered. “I-I’m sorry...” Minhyuk apologised, feeling bad about his mother stealing another child’s parent’s job. “No, no it’s okay! My dad explained who your mommy is to me, and she’s pretty amazing! She sounds super strong!” Kihyun said excitedly, Hyungwon nodding along. “Yeah, my mommy is super strong. She raised me all by herself.” Minhyuk smiled. “What about your daddy?” Hyungwon asked, and Minyuk froze a little. “I never had a daddy...” Minhyuk lied, “But everyone has two parents. How can you only have one?” Jackson asked and Minhyuk suddenly felt bad for lying. Feeling the boy’s discomfort, Wonho immediately hugged the boy tightly. “If Minhyukkie says that he only has a mommy, then he only has a mommy! He’s still Minhyukkie, he’s still normal.” Wonho protected the boy, and once more Minhyuk instantly felt at ease in the boy’s arms. Soon, the children moved on to a different topic, but Wonho’s arms never left the blonde boy, and Minhyuk found that he didn’t mind, not one bit.

Heehyo had all her attention on Hyunwoo, listening to what he was saying, but her head suddenly snapped up and looked around for her cub, sensing his discomfort. But once she located him, all she saw was Minhyuk wrapped in another boy’s arms, her ears picking up their conversation and hearing the boy defend her son, and suddenly she didn’t sense the discomfort anymore. “I think your son might have found his mate.” Hyunwoo commented at the side, and Heehyo turned her attention back to him. “I think so, too.” Heehyo replied, “He found his mate so early. It must really be fate.” Heehyo added. “What kind of wolf is that Wonho kid?” Heehyo asked, her protective instincts heightening. Hyunwoo laughed. “Look, I know you still harbour the slightest bit of hate for all alphas and that you are protective of your son, but please don’t think that a cub of all people will harm your son.” Hyunwoo laughed, “Hey, I just want to keep my cub safe.” Heehyo replied. “You don’t have to worry about your son, Wonho wouldn’t hurt a fly. His parents are both alphas,” Heehyo narrowed her eyes at him, “Stop giving that look, you have better chances of finding a delta randomly roaming than a hate-filled alpha,” Hyunwoo fought back. “Anyway, his parents are very righteous people who have very high moral values. I don’t think they’d forgive themselves if they allowed their son to be arrogant and mean.” Hyunwoo explained, but Heehyo was still giving him a mean look. “You know what, let’s go meet his parents right now.” Hyunwoo said and dragged Heehyo off, who still found herself not wanting to believe the Alpha.

 

Heehyo and Minhyuk got accustomed to the new pack fairly quickly and went on with normal life before a week had even passed. “Mommy, I won’t have to run in the middle of lessons, right?” The blonde-haired boy asked his mother as she dropped him off in front of his school. “No, Minmung, you won’t have to. I told you, we’ll be here forever.” Heehyo crouched down to match her son’s eye level. “And I won’t get hurt, right?” The boy asked, and his silver-haired mother shook her head. “No one will hurt you, you trust the other cubs, right?” Heehyo asked and the child nodded, albeit timidly. He was still a little shy, after all. “See? You have nothing to worry about, puppy.” Heehyo smiled, “Even if anyone dared to hurt you, you can always just call for me. I’ll hear you no matter where you are, and I’ll come running to your side.” Heehyo reassured. “Alright, mommy. Have a safe day at work.” Minhyuk hugged his mother tightly, who returned the embrace. “I will, pup. Have fun in school. Mommy might not be able to pick you up from school, but I heard that the other cubs always play after school. If you feel like it, you can play with them, okay?” Heehyo asked, fixing her son’s already neat hair, who nodded. “If you don’t feel like playing, you can always head home, or maybe you can even try to look for me in the Warriors’ Headquarters. I’ll always be free for you.” Heehyo let go of the hug and smiled at her son. “Alright, mommy. See you later.” Minhyuk let go of his mother and walked towards the school, stopping a little short of the door to give a final wave of goodbye to his mother, who still stood where they were and waving back at him, and then he went in.

Minhyuk was met with a very noisy room. The cottage was like a normal residential cottage, but it was slightly bigger and had a total of 14 desks and chairs facing the blackboard on the wall. It looked like any typical classroom. The cottage had two floors, Minhyuk noted, and since there were slightly older-looking wolves who were heading up the stairs at the far corner, Minhyuk guessed that the second floor was where the teen-aged wolves had their lessons. Minhyuk suddenly felt ten times as nervous as before, and desperately wanted to run into his mother’s arms. That is until, a sweet smell infiltrated his nose, an occurrence that Minhyuk found to repeat itself multiple times ever since he and his mother moved into the village. “Oh, Minhyukkie! You finally came!” Someone excitedly exclaimed, and Minhyuk pinpointed the sound to be coming from the front, where everyone was gathered. It was Wonho. “Come sit next to me!” Wonho exclaimed, patting the empty seat beside him, and Minhyuk found himself complying without any qualms. “Is it okay? Doesn’t anyone sit here?” Minhyuk asked timidly, but Wonho only shook his head. “No, not anymore.” Wonho replied, “Kibum oppa used to sit beside him, but he’s 14 now so he’s part of the teenagers’ class.” A girl with long black hair tied in a ponytail, Minhyuk remembers her to be Elaine, the oldest of the group of cubs, added on to Wonho’s answer. “Elaine unnie will also be moving up, soon!” Another girl with long light brown hair, Youngji if Minhyuk remembered correctly, chimed in. “Noona still has 4 more years to go, Youngji. She won’t be leaving us any time soon.” Jackson fought back, and Youngji puffed her cheeks, causing Elaine to chuckle. “Hey, don’t start fighting now, you two. We don’t want Mr Kim to walk out of his room to see you two fighting once again.” Elaine settled them down. “Come out of his room?” Minhyuk asked, confused. “Yeah, our teacher, Mr Kim, lives in this cottage! That’s his room over there.” A boy with small eyes, Jooheon, piqued up, pointing at a door beside the blackboard. “Looking at the time, he should come out any minute now.” Wonho added from beside Minhyuk, and true enough, the door opened and a tall male walked out of the room, closing it behind him. Everyone returned to their respective seats. “Good morning, class.” The man greeted his class, the cubs returning his greeting. Then, his eyes fell on the blonde at the front row. “Ah, I see our new cub has joined us today.” The man smiled at the boy. “I’m Mr Kim Yugyeom and I’m an Alpha. I’ll be your teacher up until you’re 14 years old.” The man introduced himself. “Can you please come forward and introduce yourself, little one? Even though I know the class already knows you well enough.” Mr Kim chuckled and Minhyuk stood up, calm due to the smell that was infiltrating his nose. “My name’s Lee Minhyuk and I am 7 years old. I am an Omega. I hope we can be friends.” Mnhyuk introduced himself and bowed slightly, everyone clapping to welcome the boy. “Thank you, Minhyuk. You may go back to your seat.” Mr Kim said and Minhyuk complied. “Now class, today we will be learning about the humans.” Mr Kim started off, and everyone settled down.

 

Mr Kim dismissed the class five hours later, and Minhyuk had planned on going straight home, but Wonho stopped him. “Hey Minhyukkie, do you want to come play with us?” Wonho asked the blonde boy. “Our parents are usually still working at this hour, and we figured your mom would still be working, too.” A boy, Youngjae, explained. “Yeah, we don’t want you to be lonely!” A girl with black shoulder-length hair, Minhee, smiled. “Will it really be okay for me join you guys?” Minhyuk asked, “Of course! We’re heading to the stream right outside the village to play today.” Wonho replied. “Is it safe to go out of the village?” Minhyuk asked, cautious. “Yeah, but only if we stay close enough so that the guards can see us.” Hyungwon explained, “Well, okay then.” Minhyuk gave his permission. Wonho broke out into a huge smile and he instantly took Minhyuk’s hand. “Let’s go then!” Wonho said as he led the group of cubs. Once the cubs explained to the guards where they were headed, and of course receiving the reminder of not straying too far from the gates, the cubs all ran to the river and immediately went into the water, except for Minhyuk. He wasn’t too bent on getting himself soaked, so he just sat at the edge of the water, allowing his feet to get soaked. “Why don’t you go in, Minhyukkie?” Wonho asked him, noticing that the boy simply watched, and not playing with the others. Minhyuk looked up, golden eyes staring back at Wonho’s black ones for the first time.

Wonho felt mesmerised.

“I don’t want to get soaked. I don’t want to get sick and worry mommy.” Minhyuk explained, and Wonho snapped out of his trance. He settled for sitting beside him. “Well, I’ll keep you company then.” Wonho announced happily, choosing to ignore what he just felt rather than try to understand it. “Are you sure you’re happy just sitting next to me and not playing?” Minhyuk asked and Wonho nodded. “I like being next to you. Your smell gets sweeter the closer I get to you, and your smell makes me calm and happy.” Wonho explained truthfully, smiling at Minhyuk, whose eyes widened. “You can smell me?” Minhyuk asked, baffled. “Of course I can. Why couldn’t I?” Wonho asked, confused. “Mommy told me that my scent is very weak. Because even for her, my scent isn’t as strong as other wolves’ scents are to her.” Minhyuk explained and Wonho looked even more confused. “But to me, your scent is really strong and sweet.” Wonho reiterated. “You too, hyung. You have a very sweet scent to me.” Minhyuk replied, and Wonho beamed. “Then that must mean that we’re fated to be together!” Wonho exclaimed happily, and Minhyuk couldn’t help the joyful fit of giggles that erupted from him. “Hey, I made you laugh.” Wonho smiled at Mnhyuk softly, who couldn’t help but feel flustered, especially with Wonho looking at him with such soft eyes. “Hey you two! Come join in the fun!” Kihyun shouted, calling the two over, garnering their attention. “Minhyukkie doesn’t wanna get wet! He might get sick!” Wonho replied for the blonde boy. “Well then, let’s play outside of the water then!” Jooheon replied gleefully, running towards the two boys who was sat at the water’s edge. “Let’s play catch!” Elaine suggested as the two boys stood up, and everyone nodded. “Hyungwon oppa’s it!” Hana suddenly exclaimed, and everyone ran from the confused boy, including Minhyuk. “Hey, no fair!” Hyungwon whined, but ran after the others anyway.

“Minhyuk!” A voice rang out loud and clear, garnering the attention of all the cubs, who all ran out of energy some time ago and opted to sit in a circle and tell stories to each other. The cubs all looked towards the gate, and saw silver hair. “Mommy!” Minhyuk cheered gleefully and ran towards his mother at full speed, the others following after him. Heehyo crouched down and picked up the running boy, hugging him to her chest, chuckling. “Well look who’s excited to see me.” Heehyo chuckled, and the boy nodded. “If Minhyuk’s mom is here, it must be pretty late.” Minhee thought out loud, and the cubs noticed that the sun was starting to set. “It’s already 5pm, cubs.” Heehyo filled the kids in. “Oh no, I have to get home! Daddy must be looking for me now.” Changkyun exclaimed. “But, Captain Jaebum just got off of duty, too Changkyun.” Heehyo told the youngest cub, who shook his head. “Not papa. Daddy Jinyoung!” Changkyun exclaimed as he ran off, causing the other cubs to laugh. “Well, it’s best for us to get going, now. Dinner’s starting in an hour and we have to bathe, too.” Elaine said, and the cubs started going off, all bidding goodbye to Heehyo and Minhyuk. "See you later, Miss Delta.” Wonho bid Heehyo, “And you too, Minhyukkie.” Wonho smiled, then he too ran off into the village. “See you later, Wonho hyung!” Minhyuk replied back, surprising Heehyo. “Well, you two seem like you got close.” Heehyo said as she turned and started walking towards their cottage, still carrying Minhyuk, who hummed gleefully. “He told me I had a very sweet scent, mommy!” Minhyuk exclaimed excitedly, bouncing in his mother’s hold slightly. “Really?” Heehyo asked, eyebrows raised, and Minhyuk nodded with a bright smile. “Well that's good to hear!” Heehyo replied, trying to keep her protective side contained. “Anyway, did you have a good day today, pup?” Heehyo asked as she opened the door to their cottage and letting Minhyuk down onto the floor. “Yes, mommy. It was very fun!” Minhyuk said excitedly, and continued on telling his mother about his day animatedly.

 

“Oh man, deltas are so cool!” Jooheon exclaimed as the children exited the school.

It had been five years since Heehyo and Minhyuk had moved into the village and became part of the X Pack, and Minhyuk was now 12 years old.

“Oh course they are! They have to be, if they want to scare off predators.” Minhyuk retorted from Wonho’s side.

Just as Heehyo had predicted, Minhyuk only stayed shy and quiet for a short period of time. Now, he was one of the most energetic wolves the pack had ever seen. No one really expected the small, blonde wolf who often hid behind his mother to be this outgoing. He made a 180 degree personality change, but thankfully it wasn’t a bad change. Minhyuk was still a sweet little boy who wouldn’t hurt a fly, now he’s just a lot noisier. He was much closer to the cubs of the pack now, but he still preferred being at Wonho’s side, whose scent he still found very sweet. Minhyuk thought that it would only stay that way for a while, but five years had passed just like that, and if anything, Wonho’s scent only got stronger.

“That’s right! One day, I’m gonna be as strong as my dad so I can scare away anyone who threatens the pack!” Kihyun threw his comment into the conversation, bouncing slightly. The boy really did love his status as a delta, and his goal, for as long as anyone could remember, was to be one of the most powerful deltas known to the wolves. “Well then, I’m gonna get as strong as Miss Delta!” Hyungwon retorted, half-jokingly to spite Kihyun, and half-seriously. Everyone laughed at the bickering duo. Minhyuk was concerned at how much the two fought at first, but everyone assured him that the two were naturally like that and they weren’t actually fighting, as per se. “All of you do know that you don’t have to keep referring to my mom as ‘Miss Delta’, right?” Minhyuk asked as he hooked his arm around Wonho’s arm, and the group nodded. “We know, hyung, but we don’t feel that comfortable calling her by her name, or even as ‘Miss Heehyo’. Her aura’s still so strong, even though we’ve known you guys for five years now.” Changkyun replied for the group, and everyone nodded. “It’s been five years, huh...” Jackson said, sighing. “Yeah, it feels just like yesterday Minhyuk hyung and Miss Delta came out of Shownu hyung’s den.” Youngjae reminisced, “And now Elaine unnie has gone up to Changkyun’s daddy’s class.” Youngji added in, referring to the teacher of the pack’s teenagers, Jinyoung, an Omega who was truthfully better off suited to be the teacher of the cubs while Yugyeom was better off suited as the teenagers’ teacher, but Yugyeom was a lazy alpha who didn’t want to climb the stairs. “And Wonho hyung’s going up in a few months’ time, too.” Hyungwon added in, and Hana gasped in realisation, earning everyone’s attention. “Then what will happen to Minhyuk oppa?” Hana asked, and everyone looked at the two oldest wolves of the group, whose arms were linked loosely. “What does me moving up to Mr Im’s class have to do with Minhyuk?” Wonho asked beside an equally confused Minhyuk. “Well, aren’t you two inseparable? I mean, just look at you two!” Jackson commented, gesturing at their linked arms. “And?” Wonho asked, still confused. “Won’t Minhyuk oppa be lonely?” Minhee asked quietly, and the two oldest wolves laughed. “Of course not! I have you guys,” Minhyuk chuckled, “Plus, I can always play with you guys. It doesn’t mean that I’m in Mr Im’s class, I can’t play with you guys anymore.” Wonho replied. “Are you sure you’ll still play with us, oppa? I mean, look at Elaine unnie. It hasn’t even been a whole year and she rarely plays with us anymore.” Youngji pouted, “Of course! I’m not like Elaine noona, that betrayer.” Wonho grumbled the last part playfully. “Is that a promise, hyung?” Youngjae asked, “Of course it is, Youngjae-ah.” Wonho smiled. “Oh, stop with this sad atmosphere. Let’s cheer up and play, guys!” Minhyuk called out happily, and then he suddenly unhooked his arm from Wonho’s, a playful grin on his face. “Wonho hyung’s it!” Minhyuk called out as he ran away, the other following his lead. “Hey, Lee Minhyuk!” Wonho whined playfully as he chased after the laughing boy.

“Hey, Wonho hyung?” Minhyuk suddenly called out as he and Wonho lied down under a tree right by the stream outside of the village, the smaller wolf lying on the elder’s arm. The others had gone back home some time ago, but the two oldest wolves opted to hang around one another for a little longer before they went back to their respective homes to freshen up for dinner. Wonho hummed in reply, eyes still closed. “Were you serious? When you said that you’d continue playing with us even after you move up to Mr Im’s class.” Minhyuk asked, staring at the sky. Wonho opened his eyes and looked down at the blonde male. “Of course, it’s a promise and mom and dad told me breaking promises is bad.” Wonho replied, curling the arm that was being used as a pillow towards himself, pulling Minhyuk in, essentially cuddling the boy. Wonho buried his nose into Minhyuk’s hair and inhaled deeply. “Besides, I don’t think I’ll be able to stand staying away from you, your scent is still very sweet.” Wonho replied, and Minhyuk felt heat rush to his face for reasons still unknown to him. “Don’t say such weird things, hyung.” Minhyuk retorted, and Wonho laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They face danger.

“Today, we’re learning about the three major packs of the wolf community.” Jinyoung started off and everyone suddenly sat up straight.

Another three years had passed, and Minhyuk was now 15 years old. Now, out of the original group of cubs, only Changkyun and Minhee were left in Mr Kim’s class. Minhyuk had obviously grown, and he wasn’t so small anymore. The height difference between him and his mother was still glaringly obvious, but it wasn’t as bad as it was just a mere two years ago.

“You teenagers are more excitable than the kids.” Jinyoung laughed, “I can practically see your tails wagging, and none of you are in your wolf form.” Jinyoung added, “But Mr Im, this is the only lesson I’ve been looking forward to since the start of the year!” Jackson called out, and the whole class laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ll get on with it. Elaine, I know you’ve already heard this before, but sit through it, okay?” Jinyoung said, and the said girl just nodded. Besides, she loved the story. “As we all know, within the numerous packs that exist, there are three packs known as the oldest and most powerful; Atlas, Vulcan, and Harmonia.” Jinyoung started off. “These packs are said to be the first three packs ever to be formed, and that they were formed by the first ever wolves, or as the humans call us, werewolves.” Jinyoung continued, “That was thousands of years ago, where wolves like us were far easier to spot because our characteristics were very different from normal human beings. Back then, all wolves had unnatural hair and eye colours.” Jinyoung continued, “But the three most prominent combinations were deep red hair and maroon eyes, silver hair with icy blue eyes, and blonde hair with golden eyes.” Jinyoung said and was about to continue, but Jooheon cut him off. “Like Minhyuk and his mom, Mr Im?” Jooheon asked, and everyone’s attention shifted to the blonde boy. “Yes, Jooheon. If I recall properly, you and Heehyo are originally from Atlas, right, Minhyuk?” Jinyoung asked, and Minhyuk grew uncomfortable at the attention he was being given, and at the question directed towards him. He felt his mouth go dry, so all he did was nod. Sensing the other male’s discomfort, Wonho stepped in. “Mr Im, are those characteristics the reason behind the formation of the legendary packs?” Wonho asked, averting everyone’s attention from the blonde boy. “Ah, yes. That’s exactly the reason why. But it wasn’t just the physical characteristics of that created the packs, it’s the personalities and abilities, too.” Jinyoung resumed.

“When it comes to Vulcan, their fiery hair matched their fiery personalities,” Jinyoung joked, causing the class to laugh and Elaine to roll her eyes, “No matter what their breed is. The Vulcan village isn’t situated here in Korea, thankfully. The village is still situated in the crater of an extinct volcano in Europe, but I could never remember which country it is, and which volcano.” Jinyoung started. “Currently, Vulcan is the strongest pack out of all the packs. They have very dominant wolves who are known to disobey anyone who they deem unworthy of their presence. You could say that they’re more of the ‘traditional’ wolves, the arrogant ones who think that they’re the best.” Jinyoung snarled at the information, “They’d do anything to stay on top, even if that means they have to commit murder,” Minhyuk had to use all his willpower to prevent the whimper that threatened to erupt from the back of his throat. Wonho felt his discomfort almost instantly, and the older boy shifted closer to the blonde discreetly and held the blonde’s hand, providing him any comfort he could give, even though he had no idea what caused the blonde boy to be uncomfortable. “But the worst of all, Vulcan has quite a number of pack members that still detest deltas till this day, and their Alpha does nothing about them.” Jinyoung provided, and Kihyun growled softly, his own way of containing his anger. “It is known that their Alpha is someone that listened to no reasoning, because well, he’s from Vulcan. But thankfully, there are wolves that are part of Vulcan and hate the way that the wolves there are, and some of them have chosen to switch packs. In my previous pack, there was a former Vulcan pack member, and he told me that what we know is actually just the tip of the ice burg.” Jinyoung said, frowning.

“Moving away from Vulcan, next is Harmonia.” Jinyoung said, and Minhyuk flinched. “Harmonia was unfortunately wiped out, only a mere 11 years ago, and they were wiped out by Vulcan, for a reason.” Jinyoung started off. “Harmonia was the strongest pack before they were wiped out, with their members being said to be as strong as deltas, no matter what their breed was.” Jinyoung informed. “Vulcan was jealous of Harmonia’s power, and hated that Harmonia was known to be the strongest, and not Vulcan, so they just decided to wipe out the whole pack. If the words that were carried by the wind are true, it seems like Vulcan burnt down the whole village.” Jinyoung added. “But moving away from fire and death, Harmonia’s wolves were known to be peace loving, often avoiding violence at all costs, and were known as the strongest pack because of that. Their words were powerful and left an impact on many, which made them scary before anyone even got to see their physical power.” Jinyoung continued. “Harmonia was also known to be very understanding and caring, easily accepting wolves who asked to join the pack. Apparently, they were taken advantage of due to that, but the Alpha of Harmonia swiftly rid the pack of any of those types of wolves.” Jinyoung added. “I also heard that the pack members of Harmonia had ethereal looks, as if they were saints. I think it would be true, judging by how their personalities are. Plus they’re said to have blonde hair and golden eyes, in addition to fair skin. If that doesn’t shout ‘ethereal’, I don’t know what would.” Jinyoung side tracked and the class laughed. “Mr Im, you’re married!” Hyungwon minded, and Jinyoung laughed. “I know, I know. Don’t tell Jaebum, or Changkyun, I said that.” Jinyoung chuckled. “I don’t want my little Changkyunnie to think that I’m in love with someone who isn’t his papa, or basically who isn’t family.” Jinyoung added and the class laughed harder. “Anyway, moving on!” Jinyoung called and the students slowly calmed down, “Harmonia started off in Europe, but the village relocated once Vulcan grew to be too aggressive. They relocated here, in Korea, in Gotjawal Forest, Jeju-do. Taking that into account, anyone can see that Vulcan really does do anything to stay at the top.” Jinyoung added, “If anything, Vulcan should be role modelled for their dedication and determination.” Jinyoung scoffed, “If only they had better intentions...” Jinyoung grumbled.

“And finally, Atlas, everyone’s favourite pack.” Jinyoung allowed a smile. “Atlas is currently the second strongest pack, and the third strongest when Harmonia existed.” Jinyoung started off. “The wolves in Atlas were characterised to most frequently have silver hair and icy blue eyes paired with porcelain skin,” Jinyoung said, but was cut off. “Like Miss Delta!” Hana added enthusiastically, “Yes, Hana, like Heehyo.” Jinyoung chuckled. “Atlas wolves were also said to be more on the cold side in terms of personality-”, “But Minhyuk hyung isn’t anything like that!” Youngjae cut the teacher off, “We’re only like that at the start. I swear, Atlas wolves are as friendly as Harmonia wolves.” Minhyuk replied quickly, hoping for the attention drawn to him to disappear as soon as possible. “That’s true, if the rumours are true.” Jinyoung butted in, and Minhyuk thanked his teacher with all his life. “It is said that Atlas wolves aren’t as cold as they appear to be, but are only very wary. Due to Vulcan’s violent tendencies, Atlas has grown to be very wary of outsiders. But who could blame them?” Jinyoung left the question to hang. “Along with Harmonia, Atlas also relocated from Europe to Korea and the village is currently hidden in one of the forest-dense mountains of Gangwon-do. No one really knows the exact location of the Atlas village because they have decided to keep their location a secret, just to ensure maximum security for their pack members if anyone ever decided to pose as a threat to the pack.” Jinyoung added on. “Their Alpha is known to care about his pack members very dearly, and would do anything to protect the pack, even more than a usual Alpha would do.” Jinyoung ended.

“Of course, with the extinction of Harmonia, there is another pack that is rising to be in third place, and that is the Light Pack, but not much is known about them other than the fact that the village is located in Japan.” Jinyoung informed the class. Jinyoung looked up, and noticed that two hours had passed. “Now, it’s time for questions. Does anyone have questions about today’s topic?” Jinyoung said, and hands shot up in the air.

“Minhyuk-ah, you were from Atlas, right?” Elaine asked as they headed out the school, finally being joined by Changkyun and Minhee. All of them were dressed warmly and the surroundings were covered by frost. It was the early stage of Winter, after all. “Yes, noona, I was.” Minhyuk replied, allowing Wonho to wrap his arm around his shoulders. “I heard that Atlas and Harmonia had a very strong bond with each other, did you get a chance to meet any Harmonia wolves when you were still in Atlas?” Elaine asked, and Minhyuk tensed slightly. “Y-yeah. But I only saw their deltas, and it was only once. So I can’t provide you guys with much information.” Minhyuk replied. “Well then, how about Atlas? Does everyone really have silver hair like Miss Delta?” Jooheon asked, “No, well evidently, since I’m here in front of you.” Minhyuk forced out a small chuckle. “There are wolves with black and brown hair, too. There are even some with red, blonde, and blue hair. Their furs are all very pretty when they’re in their wolf form.” Minhyuk explained. “Is living in the Atlas village any different than living here?” Youngjae asked. “Not really, everything’s is about the same.” Minhyuk started, “It’s just, Atlas is a bigger and busier village, with deltas constantly exiting and entering the village. Atlas is the lone peacekeeper now that Harmonia is gone, after all.” Minhyuk said, voice faltering. “Hey, let’s stop talking about Atlas. You’re making Minhyukkie miss it. Let’s go explore the forest outside of the village.” Wonho butted in, sensing Minhyuk’s mood going down, and the other wolves instantly became excited once more, forgetting about the topic. “Thank you, hyung.” Minhyuk said thankfully, nuzzling Wonho’s neck in appreciation. “No problem, Minhyukkie.” Wonho smiled. As they played and explored the forest, snowflakes started to fall, and Minhyuk found a strangely familiar scent, though dull, infiltrate his nostrils. But nag at him as it did, Minhyuk chose to ignore. It was probably nothing.

 

Come weekend, Minhyuk was lazing around in his living room, sprawled out on his couch. Normally, he would be out with the others, but today, his mother was at home, and he craved to spend time with his mother. Heehyo was currently in the living chair, her legs pulled up to her chest and a map in her hands. They weren’t talking, or even doing the same thing, but just being in the same room with his mother instantly made Minhyuk feel light and calm. Her aura was very soothing to him, no matter what anyone might say. Suddenly, Heehyo rolled up the map in her hands. “Puppy, I’m going to Hyunwoo’s den. You wanna come with? It’s been a while since you two spent some time together.” Heehyo asked, and Minhyuk sat up immediately. “Sure!” Minhyuk replied enthusiastically, causing Heehyo to laugh. Minhyuk loved spending time with the Alpha. His aura was almost as soothing as his mother’s one. “Well then, go get dressed. I don’t think you’d want the Alpha, and everyone else, to see you in your pyjamas.” Heehyo said, and Minhyuk immediately stood up and headed to their shared bedroom to change, only to come out five minutes later, all changed. “Let’s go, mom!” Minhyuk said as he bounded to the door and opened it. He only took a few steps before he stopped in his tracks, feeling the familiar scent hit him once again. “Pup? Are you okay?” Heehyo asked as she closed the door. Suddenly, Minhyuk changed into his wolf form, which was now the size of a medium-sized dog, on instinct and hid behind his mother. “What the- pup? Are you okay?” Minhyuk asked as she turned around and took the caramel wolf’s head into her hands, petting up and down his snout. Minhyuk whimpered and sniffed the air, gesturing for his mother to follow. Heehyo got the message and sniffed the air, for the first time six very strong, very familiar scents hit her like a truck. “So they _were_ here, I thought I was just smelling them from the village and their scents just got stronger...” Heehyo grumbled. “Boss, is that you?” A voice asked, and Minhyuk whimpered once more.

“Well hello there, boys. What brings you here?” Heehyo asked, turning around and looking directly at the six men. They were tall, even taller than Heehyo, and all had intimidating auras. Anyone could tell that they were deltas.

“We should be asking you that, boss.” The mint-haired one asked. “I asked first, Jaehwan.” Heehyo replied harshly, effectively shutting up the tall male. “W-we’re here for the Alpha. Our Alpha wanted to establish a tie between Atlas and X.” Another male, his hair was a shade darker than Heehyo’s, replied. “Goddammit, Hyunwoo...” Heehyo mumbled under her breath. “Boss, have you been here all these years? Why don’t you come back to us?” The same man asked, and Heehyo glared at him. “I think this is a conversation that we should have without the presence of my pup, Hakyeon.” Heehyo replied, shielding the whimpering wolf away from the six men. “Your... Pup?” Another male, one with light blue, almost silver, hair, asked. “Yes, Wonshik. My pup. Now, didn’t you say that you had business with our Alpha? I’ll bring you there.” Heehyo said, daring any one of the six men to step out of line. “Y-yes, Boss.” The six men replied frigidly. “Puppy, I need you to go back in.” Heehyo turned around to face the wolf, “I’m sorry, I know you wanted to spend the whole day together, but unexpected events occurred.” Heehyo said, and the caramel wolf nodded. “Now, turn back and go back in, Minmung.” Heehyo said, and the caramel wolf turned into his human form, and hastily went back into the cottage. “Was that a Harmonia wolf?” The blue haired male, Wonshik, asked. “Not another word.” Heehyo said sternly as she spun on her heel and pushed pass the group of men. “Now, aren’t you coming?” Heehyo asked, looking back. “Y-yes Boss.” The six men said as they rushed after her.

The seven deltas arrived at the Alpha’s Den swiftly, courtesy of Heehyo basically speed walking, her own little method of trying to calm herself down. Heehyo, surprisingly, was able to knock on both the main door and office door and enter calmly, but she immediately glared at the Alpha, who was sitting behind his desk, upon sight. “Here’s your map,” Heehyo placed the scroll harshly on the table, “Now, explain.” Heehyo jabbed her thumb behind her, gesturing at the six Atlas deltas behind her. Hyunwoo sighed before he stood up. “I apologise, platoon VIXX, but if you could please step out for a while as I settle matters with my Delta Captain.” Hyunwoo bowed to the outsiders, who all nodded, “Please, do take your time.” Hakyeon replied as he led his team out of the office. “Son Hyunwoo, have you lost your mind?” Heehyo almost screamed at the Alpha, who couldn’t help but flinch slightly at the intensified, and highly intimidating, aura of the woman. “Setting up a connection with Atlas? And in Winter at that.” Heehyo growled. “Heehyo, calm down,” Hyunwoo tried to calm the lady, but with no success. “Calm down? Hyunwoo, how do you even _expect_ me to calm down when you are basically putting this pack’s, and my son’s, safety at risk?” Heehyo retaliated, “Atlas deltas are most mobile in Winter, which means their auras are easier to detect by whatever Vulcan wolf is loitering around, waiting for a chance to slaughter deltas that do not belong to them.” Heehyo’s aura intensified even more, “Especially Atlas deltas.” Heehyo added. “Heehyo, the Alpha himself reached out to me. What do you expect me to do?” Hyunwoo asked, and Heehyo swore she saw red. “So what if Yunho, if not his son, is the one who reached out to you? Hyunwoo, you’re basically putting my son’s life on the line. The Hyunwoo I know would rather protect his people than protect his position!” Heehyo replied angrily, “But that’s not what the village elders want!” Hyunwoo replied, his calm slowly dissipating. “Your parents? What do you parents have to do with creating a bond between X and Atlas?” Heehyo asked, “They’ve been pressuring me into expanding the pack’s ties. They know the dangers of being associated with any of the three major packs, and with you and Minhyuk having been part of the pack for some time now, they’re scared that the pack’s safety would be hard to maintain, seeing as that only you, and maybe even Minhyuk, are the only ones that know the true ugliness of pack rivalry.” Hyunwoo sighed wearily, and Heehyo allowed some of her anger to dissipate. “Fine. But you will be discussing the terms of this new partnership in my presence. Besides, it’s my job as the Delta Captain to oversee all partnerships of the pack.” Heehyo crossed her arms in front of her, and Hyunwoo sighed. “Very well then.” Hyunwoo replied as he moved towards the door to welcome the Atlas deltas into his office.

A knock resounded throughout the whole house, causing Minhyuk to jump at the sudden break of silence. He was left shaken by the encounter earlier, and without his mother’s soothing aura, Minhyuk found himself incapable of calming himself. He had always associated his mother’s old team’s, VIXX, scents with danger. Another knock rippled through the house, and this time Minhyuk smelled something sweet, and he knew exactly who it was. He rushed to the door and opened it, throwing himself in the male opposite him, inhaling deeply, calm washing over him.”Minhyuk? Are you okay? Your aura, it changed. I felt discomfort from you, so I rushed over.” Wonho explained as he wrapped his arms around the thinner male, bringing the two of them inside the cottage and shutting the door. He then led them to the couch and laid both of them down, just to make sure MInhyuk didn’t feel any discomfort. “Where’s Miss Delta? Didn’t you say that you two would be spending the day together?” Wonho asked, only to receive a muffled answer from Minhyuk. “What, Minhyuk, I can’t hear you clearly if you basically have your face buried in my shirt.” Wonho said, and Minhyuk stayed still for a moment, before he moved slightly away from Wonho. “A-Atlas deltas... My mom’s previous team, more specifically, t-they’re here, in the village.” Minhyuk replied, “What’s wrong with that, Minhyukkie?” Wonho asked, “They’re scents... It brings nothing but fear and panic to me.” Minyuk replied. Wonho had many questions, but Minhyuk took priority. “Alright, how about we get out of the village for a while, hmm?” Sitting both of them up, “Get some space between you and the Atlas wolves?” Wonho asked, and Minhyuk nodded at the suggestion. They headed out hand in hand, Minhyuk seeking any form of comfort Wonho could provide.

They didn’t stray too far from the village, of course. Wonho had never ventured too far from village before, never outside of the clan’s territory, and Minhyuk never thought of leaving the safe haven of the village. What more, it was Winter now. Wolves not of the arctic variant, basically any wolf that isn’t from a cold climate or from Atlas, would be signing their death certificate by venturing out in the cold of the Winter. But still, it was quite a way’s away from the village entance. Their walk was eventless, or so it seemed. They were quietly talking, but something felt off to Minhyuk. Minhyuk heard it before he saw it, but still he froze like a deer in headlights when he whipped his head around and was met with a big, red-coated wolf, its jaws wide open as it was suspended in the air. Minhyuk saw everything in slow motion, he saw Wonho turning into his wolf form from his peripheral vision. But then a silver wolf intercepted the red wolf in mid-air, biting its neck and going down with it, and then everything wasn’t so slow.

Heehyo had smelled it before it even happened. She smelled burning wood, suffocating smoke. She put it off, until she felt the uneasiness emitting from her cub, outside the village. She was in a meeting, but she ran out immediately, ignoring the confused voices of the seven men. She ran as fast as she could as a human towards the village entrance, and changed into a wolf once she was out. It only took her a minute before she saw Minhyuk and Wonho, and the one red wolf that took initiative. She bore her fangs as she too jumped, intercepting the red wolf and sinking her fangs into his neck, crushing his windpipe with her strong jaws. By the time they hit the floor, the red wolf was dead. Hyunwoo and her previous team had arrived in no time. And then four more red wolves came out of hiding, which they did quite well taking into account that the surroundings were covered in snow. Everyone stood still, the two opposing groups sizing each other up. Suddenly, the red wolf at the centre morphed and turned into his human form, followed by his three other companions. Heehyo and her team followed suit. “My, my. What’s the strongest Delta team of Atlas doing in such a remote place like this?” The leader smirked, surprisingly speaking in Korean. “I should be asking you that question.” Heehyo spat, narrowing her eyes at them. “Well, initially we came here because we saw a group of Atlas wolves,” He spoke, his eyes focusing on the six deltas behind Heehyo, “But then, we were met with the wonderful surprise of a Harmonia wolf.” He then looked at Minhyuk, who was all the way at the back, who whimpered. “And then we were greeted by another delightful surprise, the Delta Captain of Atlas,” The man smirked at Heehyo, who growled. “Looks like it’s heyday, boys!” The leader chortled as the other three followed, “Today, we’ll have the heads of the strongest Deltas of Atlas, and the last Harmonia wolf, in our hands! Oh, how overjoyed would Alpha be!” The leader rejoiced as the Deltas snarled at them.

“Get them.” The leader’s face took a 180 degree turn, and suddenly the three other Vulcan wolves shifted.

“Minhyuk, turn into your wolf!” Heehyo commanded, and the boy did so immediately. “Wonho! Get him back into the village! Hyunwoo, Hongbin, make sure they’re safe!” Heehyo commanded once more, and the three wolves acted immediately. All three shifted, and Wonho began to nudge Minhyuk, urging the male to start running. They took off immediately, being pursued by three Vulcan underlings. “Stop them!” Heehyo commanded the remaining of her old team, who immediately shifted and pursued the others, and soon the first cry of a wolf was heard, and Heehyo was sure it wasn’t any of hers.

“Facing me off alone, Delta? You have some nerve, facing off a Vulcan Alpha alone.” The leader smirked, “Your arrogance is what will bring you down, Alpha scum.” Heehyo spat back, “Remember, an Alpha can never measure up to a Delta.” Heehyo fought, and the leader growled before he turned into his wolf form and lunged at Heehyo. Heehyo smirked, Vulcan alphas were so easy to rile up. She easily sidestepped from the attack as she shifted. Heehyo then whipped her head to the right, where the Vulcan wolf lunged at, and bit down on his neck, but she knew he was much stronger than his subordinate, the one that went down first, so she wasn’t the least bit surprised when he easily shook her off. He growled before he charged at her, and Heehyo parried him easily, clashing with him. Both wolves were growling and barking as they both tried to grab at the other’s throats in their jaws.

Hakyeon had easily taken down the slowest wolf that was pursuing Minhyuk, and had subdued him immediately. But the other two Vulcan wolves were much faster and caught up to the four wolves before they even reached the clearing of the village’s entrance. Hongbin immediately lunged at the wolf that tried to attack Minhyuk while Hyunwoo fought back the other one. But the one Hyunwoo was fighting back broke free from him, and the Vulcan wolf immediately lunged at Minhyuk, who was still running along with Wonho, and managed to grab Minhyuk’s hind leg in between his teeth. Minhyuk let out a loud whimper of pain, and if Wonho had the time to think, he didn’t. The young alpha immediately lunged at the red wolf and bit the back of his head. The red wolf immediately let go of his grip on the Harmonia wolf’s leg and instead turned to bite the grey wolf’s fore leg, and then yanked the young male off of him. The red wolf immediately went to attack the young grey wolf, but he didn’t have the chance to as he was hounded by three wolves, one that had a light cream coat, one with a white coat with the slightest tint of icy blue, and one that had a pure white coat. Taekwoon, Wonshik, and Hakyeon, Minhyuk recognised them. He then looked at the other Vulcan wolf and saw him being surrounded by three other wolves, one with a cream coat lighter than Taekwoon’s, one with a very light grey coat, and one with white coat with a very slight tint of mint. Sanghyuk, Hongbin, and Jaehwan. The Harmonia wolf then went to Wonho’s side, who had some trouble getting up, and helped the other wolf by placing his head below the wolf and propping him up. Minhyuk nudged Wonho’s head with his own lightly to try and get him back to his senses. Then, a large brown wolf come to their side, Hyunwoo. The wolf cocked his head to the side, obviously gesturing towards the village. The two young wolves nodded as they started to run, Hyunwoo making sure that he trailed behind them, just in case anyone else threatened any of his pack members.

The three wolves arrived at the gates shortly and the two young wolves immediately collapsed, panting, alerting the guards who saw the Alpha and the seven deltas who ran out of the village in haste. “Alpha! What’s going on?” One of the guards questioned. The two young one suddenly shifted back to their human form, and the guard’s gasped at their states. Minhyuk’s right leg sported a fresh bite wound that was still bleeding, while Wonho had a same mark on his right forearm in addition to looking like he was just beat up. That throw really did a number on him, apparently. Hyunwoo then changed into his human form as well, and he too sported a few bite marks and bruises, but he was more worried for the two teenagers. “One of you, alert the medics immediately.” Hyunwoo commanded, and one of the guards whipped around and ran towards the hospital. Suddenly, a pack of six wolves were visible from the village gates, their pristine light coats were tainted with blood. They too turned back into their human forms once they reached the gate entrance, their forms littered with bruises. Hongbin immediately got on his knees and inspected the two young wolves. “They’ll be alright, if the village has the correct medication, they’ll heal without a problem.” Hongbin got off of his knees a few moments later, “But I don’t know how Heehyo will react, seeing her cub like this,” Hongbin added. “Where is she?” Hyunwoo asked, and the six males looked away. “We don’t know,” Sanghyuk replied, “But we know for sure she isn’t dead. We can still smell her.” Taekwoon added quietly. Suddenly, the six deltas heard the very light patter of padded feet running towards the village. They turned their heads, and saw the Delta Captain, her muzzle and coat very heavily stained by blood. Whether it was her own blood or the other wolf’s blood, no one knew. Heehyo hurriedly turned into her human form, and she looked worse than she did in her wolf form. The mother took her cub into her hands and brushed his hair out of his forehead, inspecting for any bite marks at any of his vitals. Her eyes welled with tears as she put their foreheads together. “I’m sorry, pup, I’m so sorry...” She sobbed, “I promised that we would be safe, that I would keep you away from harm, but still you were hurt because of me...” Heehyo sobbed as she hugged her son to her chest tightly, and all anyone could do was watch, even as the medics came and took all the injured wolves to the hospital.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is revealed.

Minhyuk stirred slightly and cracked his eyes open, only to keep them scrunched due to the bright light infiltrating the room. “Puppy?” He suddenly heard his mother’s voice to his side, sounding unsure. “Puppy, are you awake?” Heehyo’s voice came once more, “Mom...?” Minhyuk answered, his eyes finally adjusting to the bright light. “Puppy, you’re awake...” Heehyo cradled her son’s head daintily, and Minhyuk felt her tears drop onto his forehead. “Mommy, please don’t cry. I don’t like seeing you upset.” Minhyuk said, holding onto his mother’s arms. “I’m not upset, puppy,” Heehyo kissed Minhyuk’s forehead, “I’m beyond overjoyed, my puppy’s alright.” Heehyo withdrew from her son, smiling. “How long was I out for, mom?” Minhyuk inquired, sitting up with much effort, and noticing that there was a bandage wrapped around his right leg. “For two days, pup.” Heehyo provided, “It was mostly due to exhaustion and the toll the whole ordeal on you emotionally. Other than that, you’re physically fine, puppy.” Heehyo added on. “How about Wonho hyung? Is he okay?” Minhyuk asked, and Heehyo allowed a small chuckle to escape from her mouth. Even in his state, Minhyuk could still find it in him to put others before him. He was truly a born Harmonia wolf. “He’s fine, puppy. He regained consciousness just a few hours after he lost it. He didn’t sustain anything major, other than maybe major shock, so he was let go by the medics yesterday morning.” Heehyo answered, and suddenly the door to Minhyuk’s hospital room opened and in came Hyunwoo. “Oh Minhyuk, you’re finally up.” Hyunwoo smiled warmly, which earned him a slight smile from the young wolf. “I’m sorry, Shownu hyung, for the trouble I’ve caused...” Minhyuk apologised weakly, looking down at his hands. “If only I wasn’t a Harmonia wolf, then this whole episode wouldn’t even have had happened...” Minhyuk said, but he simply earned a reassuring pat on his head from Hyunwoo. “Never put the blame on your existence and origins, Minhyuk. Besides, this whole orde has provided me a new experience and also has taught me some lessons on hostiles.” Hyunwoo smiled reassuringly. “But, speaking of Harmonia,” Hyunwoo changed the topic, “Is it okay, if we inform the village of Minhyuk’s origins, Heehyo? The village has been asking questions, and I don’t want them to lose trust in us.” Hyunwoo asked, turning his attention to Heehyo. “I’ll be fine with it if my pup is fine with it.” Heehyo turned to look at Minhyuk, who simply nodded. “But, only if we explain it personally to Wonho hyung first. He was the one who faced the blunt of the revelation.” Minhyuk said, and Hyunwoo simply nodded. “Alright, I’ll get Wonho here now, so we can explain it to him.” Hyunwoo said as he made his way to the door, “It _would_ be pretty hard to bullshit our way through this, anyway.” Heehyo added once Hyunwoo left, causing Minhyuk to laugh at his mother’s blunt comment.

Hyunwoo came back into the room just a few minutes later with Wonho in toll, who immediately rushed to Minhyuk and hugged the blonde once his eyes set on the now-conscious male. “Minhyuk, you’re awake!” Wonho exclaimed, finally allowing himself to breathe, knowing that the younger wolf was fine. “I’ll be fine, hyung,” Minhyuk replied as he brought up a hand to hold onto Wonho’s arm, “I’m more concerned for _you_ , honestly.” Minhyuk added, causing Wonho to retract from his hold on the blonde male. “Me? Minhyuk, I’m _fine_ , you’re the one that just woke up.” Wonho said, worry laced in his voice as he cupped Minhyuk’s face. “Yeah, but I wasn’t the one that just found out about me as a wolf.” Minhyuk replied, grasping the hand that was cupping his face. “You as a wolf?” Wonho asked, confused. “Yes, as a Harmonia wolf.” Minhyuk replied, and Wonho froze for just a second, suddenly remembering the revelation, having forgotten it in the rush of happiness that surged through him when he saw that Minhyuk finally gained consciousness. “Wonho, take a seat, I think it’s time that I tell you how Minhyuk came to be my son.” Heehyo let herself into the conversation, and Wonho followed the delta’s instruction and sat down, keeping his eyes on Heehyo, who had made her way to Minhyuk and held his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, a signal that she was going to begin the story. “This is my first time telling this story to anyone other than Hyunwoo, and also my previous team to whom I told the story to just a few days ago, when we were attacked, so do excuse me if I end up rambling, I just don’t want to miss out any details.” Heehyo provided to start off. “It all happened 11 years ago, when I was only 17, and when Harmonia was wiped out.” Heehyo started.

 -

“Platoom VIXX, I will be entrusting a very special mission to you lot.” Yunho, Atlas’ Alpha, said to the seven deltas standing at attention. They were all young, the oldest only being 23 years old, but they were the best set of deltas that Atlas had to offer in recent years, their teamwork second to none and auras easily scaring practically any other wolf into submission easily if they tried. The youngest one, a girl of only 17 years of age, had even become the Delta Captain of Atlas when she was only 14 years old. They were truly exceptional, even in Atlas standards. “I am sure we have all heard of the ill fate that Harmonia has unfortunately met.” Yunho provided solemnly. VIXX were terribly familiar with the case, their noses catching the faint whiff of burning ashes only a couple of days before the attack had happened, and even if they did make a move the second they caught whiff of the smoke, they wouldn’t have made it in time. The Harmonia village was too far and secluded to reach in time to protect. All they could do, was warn their Alpha of the incoming attack.

“Now, I will entrust the seven of you to scout the remains of the village, just in case you find any survivors or maybe even Vulcan wolves, and put an end to their lives. Such monstrosities do not deserve to live.” Yunho added, his anger flaring. “Now, prepare for the trip and leave immediately.” Yunho instructed, “Yes, Alpha.” The seven wolves replied before they promptly made their way out of his office. The seven wolves prepared swiftly and soon, they made their way out of the village gates and down the snowy mountain in their wolf form. The trip to the Harmonia village would take no less than a week at least, which included an hour or two boat ride, if they took minimal breaks and ran into no trouble, and in the worst-case scenario it would take up to two weeks just to reach the village itself, but they planned to make it there quick in hope of finding survivors.

Platoon VIXX had finally reached Harmonia, after nine days of almost non-stop travelling, and the suffocating smell of smoke and the gag-inducing stench of blood infiltrated their sensitive noses, even in human form and even though the attack happened more than a week ago. The village, which used to be bright with soft yellows and cream colours being the dominant colour of structures, was now dark, tainted with soot, as lifeless bodies of both wolves and humans alike were sprawled across the ash-filled grounds. It was obvious that the Harmonia wolves fought back, but some didn’t even have the chance to change. “This is horrible…” N commented, his emotionless façade slightly cracking at the sight of their fallen brethren, but who could blame him? “Scout the area quick and thoroughly, we are looking for both Harmonia and Vulcan wolves.” Heehyo reminded them of their duty, and the six other deltas nodded as they split up, Heehyo heading straight for the former sight of the Alpha’s den.

The Alpha’s den had fallen apart, rubble apparent and walls and columns of the once majestic castle-like structure crumbling. Heehyo knew exactly how the attack took place, she could smell and hear it all the way back in Atlas. She heard the cackling of fire as she heard a Vulcan wolf cackle along with the flames, and then the sound of explosions, and then the snarling of Vulcan wolves, soon turning into guzzles as they found to murder all of Harmonia. Heehyo was practically immune to this type of thing, but still it got so bad that she had to block it out. Her heart ached as she heard the cries of the Harmonia wolves echo in her memory. Heehyo shook her head to regain focus, and began to scout the area, sniffling from time to time to catch a whiff of any other living wolf. In her search, she came across the body of the Harmonia Alpha, Dongho, and his eldest son, Seyoung. Dongho was a worthy Alpha. He appeared to be strict and serious on the outside, but at his core he cared for his people and was willing to give anyone a second chance if they were sincere and truly regret their actions. Dongho planned to make Seyoung the next Alpha and had trained the wolf since a young age to be one, and Seyoung did not disappoint. By the age of 8, he already had a strong aura and exuded great leadership abilities. Heehyo bent down and paid respect to the father-son duo, praying for a better life for them in their next one. Seyoung was only 14, he was far too young to lose his life.

Heehyo continued her journey and went up the crumbling stairs after she checked every room on the bottom floor. She checked every room that still stood, but she found nothing, other than Dongho’s mate’s body in the master bedroom. His name was Minki, and he was an omega that embodied everything that Harmonia stood for. He was exceptionally beautiful with an exceptionally pure heart, even in Harmonia standards. He condemned violence, always looking for non-violent methods to settle arguments, and that made him scary. Everyone, not just Harmonia wolves, knew not to mess with him because he had methods worse than violence. She paid her respects before she left.

She was about to descend and leave the Alpha’s den, it was already getting dark anyway, when she heard a very slight whimper coming from the room Minki’s body was in, and she rushed back in to find where it came from. She stood still at the doorframe, listening and smelling closely, when she heard it again. It came from below Minki’s body, and Heehyo gently moved Minki’s body, careful not to disrespect him, and she saw the very slight outline of a hidden panel slightly off of where Minki’s body laid, being under the bed. Heehyo popped the panel open. But no matter how prepared she was, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. The hidden panel was bigger than she thought, it was like a mini bunker, and inside it, was a small cub in its wolf form. It couldn’t be older than five, and it must be Dongho and Minki’s youngest son. The cub whimpered again at the sudden light infiltrating its space. Heehyo’s shoulders shook, her eyes pooling with tears that have not been shed, and suddenly,

“Boss? We’ve searched everywhere, no survivors.” Sanghyuk reported, and Heehyo, now still, could visualise the six males standing at the doorframe. “Alright, go on back to Atlas ahead of me, I’m going to do one more round before I leave.” Heehyo replied, not standing up. “Did you find anything there, boss?” Jaehwan asked as he took a step forward, “No. And I said go.” Heehyo practically snarled, her aura flaring, causing Jaehwan to take a step back. “Y-yes, boss. See you in Atlas.” The six males replied, and they left her to her own. The tears began to flow then. “Oh, you poor, poor thing.” Heehyo said as she daintily took the small cub into her hands, who whimpered and tried to fight back with what little energy he had left, but Heehyo only shushed it. “Shh… Shh…. You’re safe with me, I would never hurt you…” Heehyo whispered and she embraced the small cub in her arms, who stopped fighting against her and instead tried to huddle closer to her. “Does my aura feel safe to you? Or is this just your final resort?” Heehyo asked the practically unconscious cub in her arms. “You need water, and food.” Heehyo realised, and she stood up as quickly as she could without disturbing the cub. “I’ll take care of your cub, Minki.” Heehyo said respectfully as she slightly bowed to Minki’s body, before she ran off into the woods in search of a lake where she could fish and allow the small cub in her arms to drink.

Heehyo had found a small stream near the Harmonia village and set up camp next to it, quickly crafting a fire pit as she held the cub in one arm. She then went to the stream and placed the cub’s head near the water, who started to instinctively lick the water, Heehyo sighing in relief as he finally got water in his system. She let the small cub down on a make-shift bed she made out of dry leaves and twigs once the cub refused to take in more water, and she headed back to the stream again to fish for food, which she did fairly quickly. She set down a few small pieces of fish in front of the cub, who began to take in the pieces slowly, and Heehyo allowed herself to breathe. She set her own share of fish atop the flames, cooking it, before she sat beside the cub, who had fallen asleep. Heehyo had never met Dongho and Minki’s second cub before, but she had to go with the assumption that the cub she was taking care of was in fact the said cub. The only thing she knew about him was that it was a male and that it was born only in recent years. She has seen the young cub before, only a couple of times and it was only a glimpse. He was always with Minki, and Dongho had told her that it was because he was frail, being born premature of only a week or two. She never got the cub’s name, and she doesn’t know when exactly he was born. Suddenly, she remembered that Vulcan murdered the cub’s pack right before his eyes, and her anger flared. Vulcan wolves were truly monsters that deserved no respect. Heehyo then realised that she was now in danger, because there is no denying that Vulcan wolves would pounce at the chance at murdering the cub, he was the last surviving Harmonia wolf, after all. And even though the cub’s scent was extremely weak, much weaker than it should be at this age, Vulcan had their ways of finding their prey, and having anyone know of this cub’s existence would only bring danger to them. Heehyo had to keep this cub a secret, maybe that was why Heehyo chased the VIXX boys away.

Come the next morning, Heehyo woke to a rustling beside her, and she shot up immediately upon remembering that it was the cub that could be making the rustling. She saw that the cub was rolling around and whimpering in his sleep, he must be having a nightmare, and she swiftly went to shake the cub awake gently, who opened his eyes and looked up at her and Heehyo could feel his tense aura slackening just the slightest bit. “Were you having a bad dream?” Heehyo asked, a reassuring smile on her face, and the cub nodded. “Don’t be scared, I’m here now.” Heehyo replied as she pet the cub soothingly, who pushed his head into Heehyo’s hand deeper, causing Heehyo to chuckle. “Are you already fond of me?” Heehyo chuckled, “But who could blame you, you just lost your whole pack…” Heehyo said solemnly, and the cub whimpered, before it walked away from Heehyo slightly, and then promptly turned into his human form, surprising Heehyo.

How much trust did this cub have in him?

“Will you hurt me, ma’am?” The blonde child asked at a distance from Heehyo. He was very skinny and looked frail, covered in dirt and dust, signs that reflected what he had gone through. Heehyo shook her head to his question.

“No, never.”

Heehyo replied with confidence, and the blonde child ran into Heehyo, hugging her tightly. Heehyo was shocked at first, but quickly hugged him back, feeling the tears prickle her clothed shoulder. “I lost mommy and daddy and my hyung,” The child said, fumbling over his words the way children do, and Heehyo felt her heart ache. “I know, honey, I know…” Heehyo soothed, “I’ll protect you from now on, I won’t let any of those bad people hurt you.” Heehyo promised, and the child only cried into her shoulder. Once the boy had calm down, Heehyo simply held him on her lap, slightly swaying them to further calm the boy. “Ma’am, may I know who you are?” The cub asked, looking up at Heehyo, who in turn looked back at him. “My name’s Lee Heehyo, the Delta Captain of Atlas. And may I know, who are you, young cub?” Heehyo asked back, “I’m Kang Minhyuk, Ma’am. I’m only 4 years old, and I’m an omega.” Minhyuk replied, his golden eyes staring at her icy blue ones, and it was clear of any fear Heehyo expected such a young cub to have when facing a delta. The boy trusted her wholeheartedly, and Heehyo finalised her decision. “Minhyuk, would it be okay if I took you as my own?” Heehyo asked, uncertain of how the young cub would react. But the blonde boy only cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Did you not already become my new mommy? Don’t mommies protect their cubs? Like how daddy protected me before you.” Minhyuk asked, and Heehyo’s heart swelled and ached at the same time. The young boy must be referring to Minki. It was easy to tell that he grew up in great care, Minki must have given him all the love he deserved. “O-of course, mommies protect their cubs, like how I will protect you.” Heehyo said as she embraced the young Harmonia wolf once more, who clung onto her for dear life. For the first time in a very, very long time, Heehyo felt true happiness when she held the young cub in her arms.

Soon, Heehyo set off with the young cub in her jaws’ grasp, towards the Atlas village. He would be safer in the village, but Heehyo knew she could not let anyone know of his existence. They would take him from her, Heehyo was only 17 after all, and she did not want that. She grew very attached to the boy, and Atlas wolves weren’t the warmest, though it was a reach to say that they didn’t know how to give love. It took her almost a full two weeks, because now she had to ensure that Minhyuk was taken care of properly, and it was already nightfall when she was close. As she neared the village, she knew that there was no way she could sneak the cub in. Her fur wasn’t long enough to hide the wolf, and it was customary for all wolves to be in their human form upon entering the Atlas gates, anyway. She didn’t have a field pack, she didn’t need one. She couldn’t enter secretly through one of the numerous alternate routes into the village she found while she was patrolling outside the village’s walls, that would only rise suspicion. So, she went into the woods, in search of a place where she could hide Minhyuk for just a while, until she was found a way to sneak Minhyuk into the village. “Pup, wait here just a while,” Heehyo said as she put Minhyuk’s wolf form in a bird’s tree hole, “I’ll be right back to get you, just call out to me if you run into any danger, okay? I’ll hear you, no matter what.” Heehyo said, and the cub bobbed his head up and down slightly, and Heehyo took off for the gates.

Heehyo had, obviously, gotten through the gates very easily and headed straight for the Alpha’s den, which was the last structure in the large village. Very similar to the Harmonia’s, the Atlas Alpha’s den was also a castle-like structure. Heehyo was granted entrance the moment the guards saw her, practically everyone in the village knew who she was. She made her way to Yunho’s office promptly, knowing he was still up. It wasn’t late enough for the Alpha to be asleep yet. She knocked before she entered, as a show of respect, and made her quick report, explaining why she came back later than her team, lying smoothly. Yunho seemed satisfied with her report, as he let her go just mere minutes after she entered his office. On her way out, she bumped into the Alpha’s mate, Jaeyoon. “Oh, Captain Heehyo, you are finally back from Harmonia? How was it?” The platinum-haired woman asked, a soft smile gracing her lips. “Yes, ma’am. Unfortunately, there were no survivors. But we also did not run into any Vulcan wolves.” Heehyo supplied, and Jaeyoon nodded. “I see, how unfortunate,” The woman said solemnly, “But it is good that platoon VIXX did not run into any unnecessary trouble.” She added soon after. “Now, if you would excuse me, I am getting mighty tired. It is time for me to head to bed,” Jaeyoon said as she bowed slightly to Heehyo as a sign of respect, “You should rest up soon, too, Captain. It was a long journey you had to go through. Farewell.” Jaeyoon bid as she walked away, Heehyo uttering a soft “yes, ma’am” to her as she too went back to her own house.

Heehyo’s house was one of the few houses that were close to the village walls. Not many houses were built near the interior of the walls, not many were fond of the idea of being the first ones to be hit if the walls were to ever crumble and hence the buildings near the walls were mostly either storage facilities or factories, but Heehyo liked it that way, she felt like she had her own space. But she had never been more thankful than she was now, because she could easily sneak out of the village. She slipped out of her house and swiftly climbed the high walls of the village with the aid of a tree, and she soon located Minhyuk. She had already learned his scent, and though it was still weak, she could still distinguish it without exerting too much effort. “Puppy?” Heehyo called out, and Minhyuk popped his head out, and Heehyo could see that he was slightly shivering. “I’m sorry, it’s cold, isn’t it? We’re so high up, it’s almost always snowing here.” Heehyo smiled gently as she took the cub into her arms, who tried to huddle into her coat for warmth. “Let’s go, puppy.” Heehyo said as she made her way back from where she came from, and still easily scaled the wall even though she had a cub in her arms. Once inside her house, Heehyo quickly crafted some clothes for Minhyuk to survive the cold temperatures of Atlas with whatever cloth and pelt she had in her house. Once she was done, she urged the cub into her room to get some much-deserved rest.

They only had two days to enjoy peace, because soon Heehyo smelled burning ashes again, and felt the faint, but distinguishable, malice of a Vulcan wolf. Heehyo was sure that they found out about Minhyuk, somehow, and now they were looking for him. For now, they weren’t suspecting Atlas, but Heehyo knew that they would come to Atlas once they realised that Atlas wolves had set foot on the ruined soil of Harmonia following their attack. Heehyo knew she had to leave, for the safety of both her pack and Minhyuk. She told Minhyuk about her plans of leaving, and it hurt her to see his crestfallen face, but the boy understood the situation. And so, she packed a bag that was filled with everything that they needed to survive, and they left Atlas.

 -

“And from there, we travelled the country, moving from village to village, pack to pack, just to avoid Vulcan, but sadly we have been found.” Heehyo concluded. “That was… Heavy, to say the least.” Wonho commented, and Minhyuk’s face fell. What if Wonho didn’t want to spend time with him anymore, because being with him has suddenly become a known danger? “But now you’re Lee Minhyuk, from the X Pack, you’re not Kang Minhyuk from Harmonia anymore. You’re still the Minhyukkie I know, even if you’re roots are different.” Wonho added with a smile, and Minhyuk felt his face light up. “What he said was true,” Hyunwoo interjected, “You two are still a member of this pack, for now. But I don’t know what you think about this, Heehyo.” Hyunwoo turned the attention to Heehyo. Hyunwoo knew that keeping Minhyuk safe was her priority, and if she decided to leave the pack, he couldn’t stop her. Minhyuk looked at his mother, his face crestfallen upon the realisation that there was a possibility that Heehyo would want to leave. “We won’t be leaving this pack, Minhyuk is awfully fond of X, and maybe I am as well.” Heehyo voiced out after a minute of silence, a small smile gracing her lips, and Minhyuk’s face lit up again. He thought that they would have to move packs again, and hearing that piece of news was like music to his ears. “Really, mom? We’re not leaving?” Minhyuk asked, and Heehyo shook her head. Minhyuk let out a small sound of cheer, overjoyed that they didn’t have to leave. “It’s about time that this pack learns a thing or two about hostiles, if it ever has the plan to rise in the ranks. And with Atlas now being an ally, it’s almost unavoidable to learn how to defend ourselves, rather than simple isolation.” Heehyo explained, standing up and walking towards Hyunwoo. “And we should start talking about those plans now, Hyunwoo. Now that VIXX is still here. We have many things to teach the court and of course, the warriors.” Heehyo said, and Hyunwoo followed her to the door. “Take care of him in my stead, Wonho.” Heehyo instructed before she and Hyunwoo left, leaving Minhyuk and Wonho in the room.

“I’m glad that you’re alright, Minhyuk.” Wonho said as he sat on the hospital bed, holding Minhyuk’s hand. “I’m glad you’re alright, too.” Minhyuk smiled. “Facing those Vulcan wolves were terrifying, but it was… _exhilarating_.” Wonho started off after a moment of peace, “Hyung, what are you trying to say?” Minhyuk inquired, concerned. “I think… I might try to become a warrior, when we’re older. Maybe even next year,” Wonho started off slowly, “I want to protect this pack and this village, but most of all I want to protect you.” Wonho explained and looked into Minhyuk’s eyes, and Minhyuk felt his face heat up and his heart skip a beat. “Do you understand the dangers?” Minhyuk managed to ask, and Wonho nodded. “I will do anything to keep this pack safe. To keep _you_ , safe.” Wonho reiterated. “Then I will support you every step of the journey, I’ll always be by your side.” Minhyuk replied, confidence suddenly surging.

“Forever, huh?” Wonho clarified, the tips of his lips quirking upwards, and Minhyuk nodded.

“Forever.” Minhyuk cemented, tightening his hold on Wonho’s hand.

They were young, and they didn’t know that weight of those words at that moment in time, but something told Wonho that they would understand soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading through this 17k word monster, it was hell trying to finish (i started writing this when all in first came out and i just finished writing this i have s u f f e r e d)
> 
> also i'm planning to make this universe a series, just wnted to add some small little episodes and maybe some lore stuff, but i haven't even started writing anything else for this universe so lmao idk when that will happen.


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